Hiruzen persuaded me to die

Inside Kumogakure, chaos brewed like a storm on the verge of eruption.

"Why isn't Lord Raikage doing anything?! Those Konoha shinobi roam freely outside our walls!"

The frustration of the villagers had reached its peak. Overhead, strange chakra-powered birds patrolled the skies. Below, lightning in the shape of beasts cracked against the edges of their barrier—a reminder that the enemy was watching.

"We're hiding like cowards in our own village!""Yugito was captured, and Lord Raikage won't even retaliate!"

"Maybe he's scared of being beaten again!"

"Watch your mouth!" one elder barked. "We already lost three thousand troops. Raikage-sama needs time to regroup!"

But such reasoning only fueled the flames.

"Then he should do something—push back the Konoha shinobi, avenge our dead!""At the very least, hand over that cursed old man Sarutobi Hiruzen! He's the reason they're here!"

And that name—Sarutobi Hiruzen—unleashed another tide of resentment.

The villagers didn't want him. Didn't welcome him. Didn't trust him.Every day he remained in Kumogakure only made the situation worse.

Inside the Raikage Building, the man himself was nearing his breaking point.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stormed into the war room, battered and worn. His robes were torn, his face bruised. Blood stained his sleeve.

"Lord Raikage!" he barked. "Another assassination attempt! If this continues, I'll be dead before the week ends!"

He now walked the streets of the village in disguise, hiding under a traveler's cloak and hat. But even then, the villagers hurled curses at him.

They wanted him dead.

Some believed sacrificing him would appease Konoha. Others simply wanted revenge.

And Hiruzen... could not fight back.

He was the former Hokage of the Leaf. If he retaliated, the fragile alliance would snap like a twig.

Every day he suffered a new wound—more insults, more blood. He had never been more humiliated.

"This is all your fault!" Raikage snarled, stepping forward. "If your shinobi could've stopped Hyūga Naraku, none of this would've happened!"

"If your shinobi hadn't attempted to kidnap from the Hyūga Clan, we wouldn't be here!" Hiruzen snapped back.

The Fourth Raikage didn't wait. With a roar, he punched Hiruzen in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Lord Raikage, please!"Dodai rushed forward, restraining his leader.

But even Dodai's patience had worn thin. He was the one juggling military defense, political backlash, and the secret progress of the Chakra Cannon.

And worse, he had to explain away the deaths of three thousand shinobi.

"We've told the villagers the Tailed Beast Bomb wasn't Eight-Tails' doing… that the Konoha shinobi used Wood Style. But they don't care.""All they see is death. And blame."

The pressure was mounting on all sides.

Anger from the villagers. Grief from the dead soldiers' families. Disbelief in leadership.

Just then, an Anbu shinobi burst into the room.

"Lord Raikage! A crowd has gathered outside the building! They're demanding we hand over Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

The mob was seething.

"Hand over that old relic of Konoha!""Push those Leaf shinobi out of our land!""Avenge our comrades!"

Tension thickened the air like smoke. Rage, grief, shame—all coiled into one beast hungry for release.

And then, the voice came.

Cold. Calm. Deadly.

"Raikage. Today is the deadline. What's your decision—will you hand over Sarutobi Hiruzen?"

From the skies above, Hyūga Naraku's voice echoed across the village.

The storm clouds above flickered with unnatural lightning.

The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists.

"You said I had seven days! It's only been five!"

"Oh?" Naraku's voice was tinged with a mocking smile."So the man who once violated treaties and attacked within the Fire Nation's borders is now asking for honesty and time?"

"We're simply following your example, Lord Raikage."

The Raikage trembled with rage.

He had always been the one issuing ultimatums, not receiving them.

"Today," Naraku declared, his tone darkening, "I want an answer. Do you hand him over… or not?"

He began forming a hand seal.

Above the Raikage Building, thunderclouds churned.

"No!"The Raikage growled."We won't be blackmailed! We won't hand him over!"

His mind raced.

To surrender Hiruzen now would be an admission of weakness. It would shame Kumogakure in the eyes of the other Great Nations.

And more importantly, he knew—

If Naraku wanted to destroy them, he would. Whether they gave up the old man or not.

"Very well."Naraku's chakra flared, and he turned away, vanishing into the sky.

All of Kumogakure exhaled at once.

Relief flooded through the streets.

Even the Raikage felt his shoulders drop.

"So... that bastard still can't break our barrier," he muttered with a sigh of relief.

They would just keep the shield up until the Chakra Cannon was complete. Then, they could fire once—and end it all.

Watching silently from the shadows, Uchiha Obito stood atop a nearby peak, his body phasing in and out of reality.

"If that's all the power he has... how disappointing."

To Obito, Naraku's Lightning Style—Kirin—was impressive, but insufficient. It could break a hole in the barrier, yes. But that hole would seal too quickly for a real assault.

And if Naraku came alone?

He would be stepping into a trap.

"He can't take Kumogakure alone," Obito muttered.

Then the world shook.

BOOOOM!

The ground rumbled violently. Buildings rattled. People screamed.

"Was that an earthquake?!"

"No… look! Look at the sky!"

The sun vanished.

The entire village dimmed, cast into eerie twilight.

A shadow covered them all.

Thousands of eyes turned upward—

And saw Hyūga Naraku descending from the heavens, wrapped in a glowing Tenseigan Chakra Cloak, his figure radiant against the darkened sky.

His hand stretched outward—gripping an entire mountain.

A real mountain, hundreds of meters tall, ripped from the earth and held aloft like a divine hammer.

"Wha—wha… what is that?!"

Terror froze the village.

Even the Raikage stood motionless, staring in disbelief as the impossible loomed above them.

This was no bluff.

Naraku wasn't playing anymore.

He had come to make a point—

And the mountain was his answer.